Aftershock
by Gracielinn
Summary: Post-episode fic for "The World's Columbian Exposition." According to Webster's II New College Dictionary, one of the definitions of the word "aftershock" is 'a further reaction following the shock of a disturbing occurrence.'
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 (Lucy)

Wyatt's hand was warm and firm under her elbow as Lucy struggled to climb into the lifeboat after the team had walked at least a mile past the crowds and bright lights of the Chicago Worlds Fair. Between her voluminous skirts and corset, her natural clumsiness, and the growing weariness that was seeping into her very bones, it was small wonder she tripped and fell backwards. Luckily, Wyatt was there to catch her, strong arms cradling her against his broad chest.

"Hey, easy there, Lucy," he softly cautioned against her ear. She shivered at his low intimate tone, and Wyatt must have assumed that she was cold because as he set her carefully on her feet, he ran his hands slowly up and down her arms, and looking up into his concerned dark blue eyes, Lucy felt as far away from cold as a woman being touched by Wyatt Logan could get.

" _My God, I wasn't sure I'd ever see him again_ ," she thought, and to her great embarrassment, her bottom lip began to tremble, and she could feel the tears start to trickle down her face. Wyatt frowned slightly and pulled her to him, rubbing her back and murmuring soothing words as Lucy closed her eyes and tucked her face against his neck, just breathing him in. Even after he and Rufus had spent several agonizing hours in a serial killer's "murder room," he still smelled so good (like home, her vulnerable mind supplied).

From behind her, she dimly heard Rufus ask quietly, "Is she okay to jump? Lifeboat's all set, and I don't know about you guys, but I'm so ready to go home." "Yeah, just give us a minute, okay, Rufus?" Wyatt requested, and then it was just the two of them again, as he continued to hold and comfort her. A few moments later, he drew back slowly and putting a hand on her tear-stained cheek, asked, "You want to try again, Lucy? Rufus is right, we need to get home so the doctor can get you checked out."

He gently tilted her chin up, and looking into her eyes, smiled when she nodded slowly. "That's my girl," he praised, and solicitously handed her over to Rufus, who tugged her up and in the lifeboat before taking his own seat and began flipping the dizzying array of buttons and switches necessary to take them home. Lucy got herself situated and sat listlessly while Wyatt easily scrambled in and sat down before leaning forward and deftly fastening her safety harnesses.

Lucy knew she was staring at him as his large hands skillfully made sure she was secure, and her breath caught when he looked up suddenly and solemnly confided, "It just didn't seem right for your seat to be empty on our jump here. We missed you, Lucy, and I'm glad you're okay." Gazing into his sincere blue eyes, all Lucy could manage was a jerky nod, and a lone tear escaped as she shut her eyes tightly for the trip home.

Once the lifeboat thudded to its usual stomach-churning stop, Lucy's reality became a series of blurred images and sounds: a worried-looking Wyatt unfastening her harnesses and hauling her to her feet as she swayed precariously on shaky legs before he hastily jumped down and turned to gather Lucy in his arms... numerous voices, loud and urgent, all running together...bright lights, wavering and painful... the deep rumble of Wyatt's voice echoing around her head as Lucy finally succumbed to the inviting lure of dark oblivion, utterly secure in the knowledge that she was safe in his protective arms.

Lucy's eyelids lazily fluttered open as she gradually awakened to find herself in one of the private hospital rooms at Mason. Able to draw in a deep breath for the first time in what felt like forever, she was so thrilled to be out of that damn corset, she didn't even mind the oh-so-attractive hospital gown that someone had put her in. She grimaced at the thought of the blood-red gown Flynn had chosen for her to wear in Chicago because it had given her the creeps when she noticed the dress matched his costume ( _ugh_ ). As she lay there blinking slowly, mentally taking stock of her physical condition, she heard a faint snoring beside her, and turning her head cautiously, smiled wistfully at the sight of Wyatt slouched down in what looked like an uncomfortable chair with one hand resting on his steadily rising and falling chest.

She became pleasantly aware that his other hand was securely clasping hers. Lucy lifted her eyes from their joined hands to see Wyatt's dark blue eyes flicker open and gaze intently at her. "Hey, you're finally awake," he said with a relieved smile, as he pulled his hand from hers so he could stand and stretch. Lucy didn't even bother to hide her appreciation for the glimpse of his flat, toned stomach when his shirt rode up. She dropped her gaze just in time as he asked how she was feeling. "Okay, I think," she tentatively answered, and realized thankfully that it was the truth.

"Well, that's good to hear, considering you've been asleep for," checking his watch briefly, "over twelve hours," he teased. Her eyes widened at that piece of information, but before she got up the courage to ask if he'd been there the whole time, the door opened to admit Agent Christopher accompanied by a nurse. As the nurse started taking Lucy's vitals, Agent Christopher motioned for Wyatt to step into the hall with her.

Lucy had just started to close her eyes again when she heard Wyatt exclaim angrily, "Are you serious? It's too soon! No! Absolutely not! She's been through enough already!" and she frowned as she strained to hear Agent Christopher's reply through the closed door, but it was a futile effort because unlike Wyatt, she was speaking in a normal tone of voice. "Miss Preston, you need to relax so I can take your blood pressure," the nurse admonished briskly, and Lucy tried to comply, even as she could feel her anxiety level rising.

What was going on? Why was Wyatt yelling? What did Agent Christopher want from her? Lucy began to gasp soundlessly as her breathing sped up and her heart beat faster in agitation, prompting the nurse to hurry to the door and summon Wyatt. He immediately came and sat on the side of the bed, taking her hand in his and putting his other hand on her cheek, tried to calm her down. "Lucy, it's all right, Lucy, look at me, just breathe, in and out, that's it, nice and slow," and never taking her eyes off him, she tried to match her breathing to his as a concerned Agent Christopher and nurse looked on.

Her eyes filling up as she struggled to compose herself, Lucy was relieved when Wyatt asked the two women to give them a few minutes. Clutching his hand tightly, she felt much better when the door closed and it was just the two of them. "There you go, Lucy, that's it," he murmured approvingly as his thumb delicately brushed away a couple tears. "Now what has you so upset?" Wyatt asked, and when she hesitated, he gently lifted her chin to look into her eyes.

Lucy sighed, and confessed, "I could hear you yelling at Agent Christopher, and it worried me. What did she say to make you so angry?" and her heart sank when he paused ( _what could be so bad that Wyatt would actually yell at his superior officer_ ), and finally admitted, "She wants to debrief you as soon as possible, and I think you need a little more time, maybe have something to eat and get a shower before you have to start reliving this nightmare. I'm sorry if I overstepped, but..." and his voice trailed away as Lucy smiled gratefully at him.

Squeezing his hand, she whispered, "Thank you, Wyatt, for having my back and always taking care of me," and was dismayed to see him shake his head and frown at her. Had she overstepped just now? As she started to pull her hand from his, Wyatt gripped it even more firmly. "Lucy, no, that's just it. This was all my fault. I let Flynn take you, so, no, I didn't have your back, and I am so sorry for what happened to you. Can you forgive me?" and the pained look in his dark blue eyes nearly broke her heart.

At a loss for words, Lucy tugged him closer and resting her cheek on his shoulder, felt his arms encircle her, and for a brief moment, everything was right in Lucy's world. All too soon, Wyatt pulled back at a knock on the door. "Lucy," he urged, "You don't have to do this right now." She put a hand on his stubbled cheek and replied, "It's okay, Wyatt. Probably better to just get it over with," and he sighed, and standing, called out, "It's open."

Before an obviously exasperated Agent Christopher could even speak, Wyatt brusquely informed her that as soon as Lucy had something to eat and gotten cleaned up, he would bring her to the conference room for her debriefing, as long as Medical released her. The agent glared at Wyatt, but decided not to cross the line in the sand he had drawn, and after telling Lucy she was glad she had gotten back safely, huffed in Wyatt's direction as she left the room.

As the nurse began sliding the blood pressure cuff up Lucy's arm again, Wyatt leaned over the other side of the bed and promised Lucy he'd be back with some food after she finished her shower and got dressed. She nodded, and slumped back on the pillows, suddenly tired again, even though she had just woke up from a twelve-hour "nap." Maybe Wyatt had been right to try and put Agent Christopher off, because just the thought of sitting in the conference room and answering questions for who knew how long, made her dizzy ( _c'mon, Lucy, get your act together, quit being a big baby_ ).

An hour later, Lucy was certain that Wyatt had been right, because she wasn't even sure she was being coherent any longer. After a distressingly-brief hot shower that had merely washed away the grime from the coffin that H.H. Holmes had stuck her in, and gobbling down half a turkey and cheese sandwich with a bottle of water that Wyatt had brought her, Lucy felt like she had been hit by a truck. She ached all over, and the lights in the conference room were giving her a throbbing headache. It hadn't helped either when Agent Christopher had insisted that she wanted to speak with Lucy alone, and from Wyatt's instantly growled protest, he had been very unhappy at being banished from the conference room. "Lucy, I will be right outside the door if you need me," he said, scowling at the agent.

She had gone over Flynn's plans to assassinate Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and J.P. Morgan with the coerced assistance of Harry Houdini at least three times and in as much detail as she could remember before Agent Christopher was satisfied. Thinking she was done, Lucy had stood on shaky legs before the other woman said regretfully, "Lucy, I'm afraid we're not finished yet. If you're up to it, I need you to tell me about your abduction." To her dismay, she felt her eyes well up, and she blinked fiercely to keep the tears from escaping down her cheeks as she dropped back into the chair.

Taking a deep breath, Lucy looked down at her tightly-clasped hands and started at the beginning of her nightmare, when the trio had decided to split up at the Rittenhouse manor to try and find young John before Flynn, who had sworn to kill him. She thought she might have seen a glimmer of admiration in Agent Christopher's eyes when she recounted how she had unthinkingly stepped in front of the boy to keep Flynn from shooting him in cold blood.

Her immense relief at finding that the child had escaped had rapidly dissolved into panic at the incredible anger he had directed at her for thwarting his plans. Cruelly wrapping his large hand unyieldingly around her wrist, he started dragging her behind him, forcing Lucy to practically run to keep up with his long legs. She had frantically pulled at his iron grip on her wrist with her free hand and screamed for Wyatt and Rufus as loudly as she could, but Flynn was like a man possessed, and she had fearfully realized that if they got to the mother ship before Wyatt could find her, she would be alone at the mercy of an insanely enraged Garcia Flynn.

Lucy's heart had jumped hopefully in her chest when she finally heard Wyatt's voice yelling her name, and she tried dropping to the ground with all her weight to slow their progress towards the still-concealed mother ship, but that merely resulted in Flynn brutally yanking her to her feet, nearly pulling Lucy's arm from its socket ( _No wonder she ached all over_ ). She could tell by their shouts that Wyatt and Rufus were getting closer and she desperately wanted them to save her, but without warning, as Flynn hauled her across a large open clearing, the mother ship appeared, its oblong-shaped door gliding open smoothly and metal steps dropping down.

She remembered her historically-correct half boots had gotten wet going through the dew-covered grass, and she had slipped on the metal steps more than once, banging her shins painfully as Flynn hauled her roughly into the mother ship. Lucy had nearly wrenched her neck trying to turn around to see where Wyatt and Rufus were, but it had been too late. Flynn had flung her into a seat, none-too-gently cuffing her wrists together in front of her with zip ties, and gruffly ordered his pilot, Anthony Bruhl, to leave immediately. Lucy had noticed that Anthony couldn't meet her eyes as he wordlessly obeyed Flynn's command.

At that point, Lucy paused to compose herself while the other woman waited patiently. She sipped at her water, and swallowing hard over the sudden lump in her throat, resumed speaking. Within seconds of leaving 1780 upstate New York, the mother ship had landed quietly in a large deserted warehouse, she assumed somewhere in or around San Francisco. Flynn had stalked angrily off the ship while Anthony slunk after him, and that left Lucy with Karl and another goon with dark hair and no neck. She shivered as she recollected the ugly look in Karl's eyes as "No Neck" had grabbed her out of the seat and pushed her towards the hatch.

Lucy absentmindedly rubbed her sore hip as she told Agent Christopher that Karl had savagely yanked her down the metal steps so hard that she had tripped, severely banging her hip. Karl took her arm roughly and after carelessly slicing through the zip ties on her wrists, pushed her into a small room and slamming the door shut, locked it securely from the outside. Glancing up, she could tell by the sympathetic expression on the agent's face that she was aware that Lucy was extremely claustrophobic. The tiny room was just large enough to hold a twin mattress and there was a small lamp on the floor in one corner.

Lucy wasn't even aware of the tears sliding down her face as she relived those early hours of her captivity, how she had dropped down on the mattress, and scooting back against a corner, hugged her knees to her chest as she could hear Flynn's furious shouts through the locked door. She must have fallen asleep because she was startled awake when without warning, the door was jerked open and Karl was standing in the doorway. "Boss says you can have a bathroom break and something to eat if you behave yourself," he had sneered.

Not wanting to betray her nearly paralyzing fear, Lucy had tried to control her trembling limbs and getting to her feet, numbly followed Karl past the mother ship to the other side of the warehouse. She had stumbled as he shoved her into the bathroom, nearly hitting her head on the small sink. A loud bang on the door preceded Karl yelling "five minutes" and not wanting to antagonize him, she had hastily used the bathroom and washed her hands and face, not bothering to even look in the cracked mirror.

Without warning, the bathroom door flew open, and Flynn stood there glowering at her. Lucy admitted that the deranged look on his face terrified her, and she was honestly afraid he was going to kill her. Just uttering those words out loud made Lucy feel sick to her stomach, and her head started to swim. She could barely hear an alarmed Agent Christopher saying her name over the roaring in her ears, and little black spots danced lazily before her eyes.

And then suddenly, Wyatt was there, pulling her chair away from the conference room table, and kneeling before her, his warm hands gently pushed her head between her knees. "Lucy, you're okay, I'm right here, just breath slowly, you're safe now," he murmured in her ear as he coldly informed the agent, "She's done here. It's been over three hours, and you have pushed her to the point of passing out. I'm taking her home now. If she feels better in the morning, I'll bring her back in," and Lucy was vaguely aware that the other woman offered no resistance.

Putting his hand lightly on the back of her bent neck, Wyatt asked if she was ready to go home, and Lucy winced as she raised her head too quickly. Blinking drowsily at him, she whispered, "Yes," as he easily pulled her to her feet, and keeping his arm around her, they left the conference room and headed towards the women's locker room to retrieve her phone and bag. A deep wave of exhaustion washed over Lucy as they slowly walked outside to his truck, and she pitched gratefully against him for support.

She didn't remember falling asleep during the short ride to Wyatt's apartment, but it felt like only seconds later he leaned in her open door, and she heard him say, "Lucy, we're here. Can you wake up? C'mon, let's get you inside." Taking her hands, he tugged her carefully out of the front seat, and shutting the door, helped her inside. Lucy knew she was fading fast, and it took all her concentration to follow Wyatt into his bedroom and sit on the side of the bed after he pulled the covers back.

She managed to stay upright long enough for him to remove her shoes, and was so close to passing out, it didn't even register that he was matter-of-factly removing her jeans and sweater and dropping a large warm tee shirt over her head before she fell over on an invitingly soft pillow. Lucy sluggishly blinked up at Wyatt as he carefully pulled the covers up to her shoulders and pressing a tender kiss on her head, whispered, "Good night, Lucy." And then she knew no more.

 _A/N: This is my attempt to "crack" the writer's block I'm still having with the latest chapter of First Steps, plus I got inspired from re-watching some of my fave episodes thanks to my season one DVD's I got this week (YAY). Big shout out to Once Upon A Whim for her contribution to part of the plot. The next chapter will be most of these same events from Wyatt's P.O.V. My sincere appreciation for all the wonderful reviews, favorites, follows, and encouragement, especially from the guest reviewers. I'm so proud to be part of this amazing fandom :))  
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	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 (Wyatt)

Wyatt was so pleased that the team was back together he failed to notice at first that Lucy was moving slower and slower and falling farther behind as they trudged back to the lifeboat. He and Rufus had been discussing famous serial killers, brought on, no doubt, from their own nearly fatal encounter with H.H. Holmes in his infamous "murder hotel." At the unspoken question in the pilot's eyes, Wyatt assured Rufus that he had absolutely no qualms about ending the bastard's life, not after the emotional and psychological torture he had put the two of them and the architect, Sophia, through earlier in the day, and most importantly, after he had nearly murdered Lucy. Wyatt was not about to lose another woman he cared for in such a brutal manner.

Speaking of Lucy, the two men stopped and turned around, startled to see that she had come to a sudden halt a few yards away and was just standing there with her eyes closed. His gaze fixed solely on her, Wyatt nodded absently when Rufus said he would just go on ahead to the lifeboat and get everything ready for the jump home. Wyatt slowly approached Lucy, and cautiously putting his hand on her arm, asked, "Lucy, are you okay?" Standing this closely to her, he couldn't help but notice the dark circles under her eyes, and her face looked hollow and about as pale as he'd ever seen it. His guilt at letting Flynn take her rose up in his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.

Pushing that feeling back down (after five years, he was a pro at it), he repeated his question, "Hey, Lucy, you doing okay? It's not much farther to the lifeboat. If I walk with you, can you make it?" and as she blinked slowly, the dull, unfocused look in her usually lively brown eyes made his heart ache. Wyatt carefully took her hand, and gently tugging her forward, turned them in the right direction toward the lifeboat. Lucy's hand felt small and cold in his, and he couldn't seem to stop himself from worrying about her.

Thank God, a few minutes later the lifeboat came into view, because Wyatt was just about to pick Lucy up and carry her. All the adrenaline from earlier had definitely worn off, and her small frame was fairly drooping with weariness. Once they were in front of the open hatch, he put a steadying hand under her elbow as Lucy tried valiantly to climb up and in, but between her heavy skirts and obvious exhaustion, it was no surprise when she tripped and fell backwards. Wyatt easily caught her and just held her against his chest for a moment. She shivered with the cold as he set her back on her feet, and he began rubbing his hands slowly up and down her arms to try and warm her up.

To Wyatt's dismay, as she gazed up at him, Lucy's lips trembled and silent tears made delicate, silvery tracks through the faint residue of ash and soot left on her face by her imprisonment in one of Holmes' coffins. He pulled Lucy to him, rubbing her back and trying to comfort her as she cried softly against his neck. Wyatt was so proud of the way Lucy had kept her head when that bastard Holmes had grabbed her and trapped her in a shallow wooden box. As extremely claustrophobic as Lucy was, she must have been nearly paralyzed with terror, yet she still managed to stall the serial killer long enough for them to find her, and Jesus, this was on top of whatever Flynn had already put her through.

Wyatt fought to suppress his rising anger at Lucy's ordeal. She needed him now, and he was damned if he was going to fail her again. As her tears subsided, Rufus climbed out of the lifeboat, a concerned expression on his face, "Is she okay to jump?" and waited patiently near the hatch when Wyatt asked for a minute so Lucy could compose herself. She was quiet now but for the occasional shuddering breath, and Wyatt put his hand on her cheek and gently tilted her chin up so he could look into her eyes as he asked her to try and board again.

Sniffing, she nodded, and with help from Rufus, was successful the second time. Wyatt quickly boarded after her and took his seat before leaning across and buckling Lucy's restraints securely. Motionless, her only response when Wyatt told her how much he and Rufus had missed her was a single tear as she shut her eyes tightly. Wyatt kept his eyes on Lucy as the lifeboat landed hard, and when her head began to list forward, he hastily tore off his harness and reached over to unfasten hers before pulling Lucy to her feet. "C'mon, Rufus, get that hatch open," Wyatt urged as she swayed unsteadily. The pilot slammed the correct button and stood up just in time to put his arm around Lucy's waist as her eyes started to flutter erratically and roll back in her head. Wyatt jumped down and immediately turned to take Lucy in his arms as Rufus held her steady.

As he cradled Lucy against him, Wyatt brushed past a grave Agent Christopher and the others as he headed for the Medical wing. "Can you call and tell them I'm bringing Lucy in?" he threw over his shoulder, not bothering to wait for a reply. As he approached Medical, the double doors opened and two nurses met him with a stretcher. Wyatt gently put Lucy down and held onto her hand as the nurses quickly wheeled the stretcher through the doors. Snapping back the curtain around the exam room, one of the nurses tried to make Wyatt wait outside, but he ignored her as he lifted Lucy from the stretcher and transferred her to the exam table.

He didn't want to leave Lucy (he just got her back, for God's sake), but the first nurse admonished, "Master Sergeant, we need to undress Miss Preston now, so if you would, please wait on the other side of the curtain." Wyatt bent down and breathed near her ear, "Lucy, I'll be right outside the curtain if you need me, okay?" and impulsively kissed the top of her head as he reluctantly left the exam room. Jamming his hands in his pants pockets, Wyatt restlessly paced back and forth as the nurses worked diligently to get Lucy out of her costume.

He froze as one of the nurses gasped audibly, and tearing back the curtain, Wyatt stepped into the exam room. "What is it? Is she all right?" and stopped abruptly at the horrifying sight of multiple bruises adorning Lucy's pale, delicate skin. Wyatt was nearly consumed with a pitch-black rage at the physical evidence of how badly she had suffered during her time as Flynn's hostage. " _Garcia Flynn was a dead man the next time they met_ ," he swore vehemently to himself. He started at a hand on his shoulder, "Master Sergeant, we really need to finish undressing Miss Preston now. Just give us five minutes, and I swear as soon as she's in a hospital gown, you can come back in," the nurse said kindly. Wyatt's finger tenderly traced a bruise on one of Lucy's narrow shoulders, and taking a deep breath, he nodded at the nurse, who patted him on the arm and promised, "We'll take good care of her."

This time when he walked out of the exam room, Jiya was waiting for him. "Rufus is being debriefed right now, and Agent Christopher wants to talk to you next," she explained apologetically. Faintly distressed at Wyatt's blank stare, Jiya grabbed his arm and pulling him over to one of the chairs in the waiting area, unceremoniously pushed Wyatt into it. "Wyatt, what is it? Is Lucy okay?" she implored, "Wyatt, please, you're scaring me." He struggled to focus his gaze on Jiya's worried face, and clearing his throat, confessed in a hushed tone, "Jiya, she's covered in bruises. He hurt her, that son of a bitch Flynn hurt her, and it's all my fault," his voice breaking as his eyes welled up and his face crumpled in anguish.

Jiya threw her arms around Wyatt's neck and rubbed his back comfortingly as he put his head on her shoulder and cried for a moment or two. "Shh, Wyatt, it's not your fault, so stop blaming yourself because I'm sure Lucy doesn't," she tried to console him. Pulling back from her (now damp) shoulder, Wyatt hastily swiped at his wet eyes and started to apologize when Jiya put a finger on his lips and sternly declared, "No, don't you dare say you're sorry, Wyatt Logan. The three of you have been through hell on this mission. But Lucy's here now and safe, and she is so lucky to have someone like you in her life, so don't ever forget that, okay?" and she smiled encouragingly at him when he nodded hesitantly.

They looked up when the nurse pulled back the curtain and announced they were taking Lucy to a private room where the doctor was waiting to examine her. Wyatt instantly stood and started to follow, when Jiya tugged on his hand. "What about Agent Christopher?" she asked. Shrugging distractedly, Wyatt replied, "Tell her I'll come to the conference room as soon as I talk to the doctor," and hurried to catch up to Lucy. After making him wait just outside the door for several long minutes, the nurses finally took pity on Wyatt and let him stand in the back of the room while the doctor finished carefully examining a still-unconscious Lucy. He liked and trusted Dr. Adams, who, after having to patch Wyatt up numerous times over the past months, had become kind of a friend. Finally, the physician completed the exam, and as the nurses prepared to give Lucy a quick sponge bath, he motioned for Wyatt to follow him out the door.

"Well, Doc," Wyatt asked somewhat impatiently, "Is Lucy going to be all right?" Giving Wyatt a searching glance, the doctor responded, "First of all, Wyatt, I want to reassure you that, physically, Miss Preston appears to be a little dehydrated and obviously suffering from severe exhaustion. Mentally and emotionally, however, could be a different story, and we won't know for sure until she wakes up." Wyatt interrupted, "What about the bruising?" and felt uneasy when his friend hesitated. "Wyatt, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Someone handled Miss Preston very roughly within the past few days as there is quite a bit of bruising, some extensive, especially on her arms and legs."

He felt sick to his stomach at the very thought of Lucy enduring such brutal treatment. "Wyatt, one thing I can tell you is that I found no sign of any kind of sexual assault," and Wyatt slumped back against the wall in sheer relief. Dr. Adams patted his shoulder and said, "I'm confident that Miss Preston should make a full recovery. What she needs most right at the moment is rest and hydration, so as soon as she's cleaned up, we'll start an IV that will also contain a mild sedative. Now, she will probably experience some discomfort from all the bruising, but unfortunately, all we can do for that is offer her ibuprofen and let her body heal itself in time. I feel confident that when she wakes up, you will see a big improvement."

Wyatt shook the doctor's hand, who waved away his thanks, and advised Wyatt that a hot meal and some sleep would be good for him, too. "Yeah, that will have to wait, Doc, I have a mission debriefing to get to, but I will come back as soon as I can," he promised. Wyatt peeked in the door as the first nurse came out, and slipped inside as the other nurse was just finishing taping down Lucy's IV. She did look a little better now that her face was clean and her hair had been taken down from the top of her head and fluffed around her wan face. And while Lucy seemed to be resting comfortably, Wyatt hated like hell to leave her.

Perhaps sensing his indecision, the nurse informed him that Lucy would probably sleep for several hours now, which was the very best thing for her. "If you want to come back later and sit with Miss Preston, I'll make sure there will be a chair beside her bed and that no one will disturb you. We'll look after her until you come back," and left the room to give him a minute. She looked so small lying there, almost fragile, but Wyatt knew looks could be deceiving. Lucy was one of the strongest women he had ever known, always fighting for what she believed in with courage and passion. Wyatt vowed that he would not let her down again; she had become much too important to him. He leaned down and gently brushing her dark wavy hair off her forehead, pressed a kiss there. "Sleep now, Lucy, you're safe, and I will be back as soon as I can," he whispered, before turning and leaving her room.

He met an equally weary-looking Rufus in the hallway outside the conference room who immediately asked how Lucy was. Wyatt gave him a quick update on her condition, and the other man closed his eyes gratefully. "You think it would be okay if Jiya and I looked in on her for a few minutes?" Wyatt assured him it would be, and then asked Rufus just how much he had told Agent Christopher. While the two men were comparing notes, a disgruntled agent stuck her head out of the conference room and reminded Wyatt in a sharp tone that she didn't appreciate being kept waiting. He turned to Rufus, and rolling his eyes, told the pilot he'd see him later.

The debriefing did not go well, as Wyatt was not only preoccupied with returning to Lucy as soon as possible, but while recounting mission details, became increasingly distracted by his anger at Garcia Flynn. Eventually, Agent Christopher put down her pen and complained with a peeved expression, "This was not one of your better mission reports, Wyatt," and then relented, "But I also know the last few days have been difficult for all of you, so let's just stop here for now. I'd tell you to get cleaned up and find something to eat and possibly grab a couple hours sleep, but I'm sure I'd be wasting my breath." Wyatt just grinned at her and replied, "Yes, Ma'am."

Leaving the conference room, Wyatt hurried to the men's locker room. Although he wasn't particularly hungry, and he planned on sleeping in a chair beside Lucy's bed, a hot shower sounded really good right now. As Wyatt stood under the hot, biting shower spray, he tried to control the dark thoughts racing around his mind: the knowledge that he and Rufus were trapped while Lucy was still missing; rescuing a traumatized Lucy from that madman Holmes; the ugly meeting with David Rittenhouse and watching Flynn shoot him in cold blood; the murder of General Cornwallis and then Benedict Arnold. Hell, yes, this last mission had been hard on the team. That was an enormous understatement.

He had dried off and was nearly done dressing when the locker room door was thrown open by a stressed-out Rufus. "Wyatt, come quick," he panted, "It's Lucy, she's all worked up and the nurses can't get her calmed down." Alarmed, Wyatt hastily threw on the rest of his clothes, and followed closely by Rufus, practically ran to the Medical wing. "Jiya and I were sitting with her when Lucy started twisting around and muttering. She's not conscious, but she did say your name a couple of times."

Wyatt burst into Lucy's room and ignoring both Jiya and the nurse, went straight to the side of the bed, and picking up Lucy's hand, leaned in and murmured, "Lucy, I'm here, it's okay, you're safe now, I'm right here." He was gratified when she seemed to sense his presence and the fretful lines on her forehead relaxed. Breathing a sigh of relief, Wyatt eventually looked up to see Rufus and Jiya staring at him, and his face reddened at their knowing expressions. Thankfully, they took pity on him, and Jiya offered to bring him a sandwich since it was obvious he wasn't leaving any time soon. He nodded his appreciation as they left.

The nurse thanked him for returning so soon, explaining that Dr. Adams was reluctant to increase the dosage of sedative in Lucy's IV. Within moments, Wyatt was settled in beside Lucy's bed, and taking her right hand in his left one, he dozed off while waiting for his friends to come back. Sometime later, he was awakened by the sound of Lucy whimpering. Her dark head moved restlessly back and forth on the pillow as she mumbled, "No, let go of me, Wyatt, help," and his heart ached that she must be reliving her abduction.

Leaning over her and putting his hand on her shoulder, Wyatt tried to comfort her when suddenly, her eyes flew open and she gazed unblinkingly at him. He was shocked when she resolutely told him in a clear voice, "Wyatt will find me, and then he will kill you," before shutting her eyes and drifting back to sleep, and he sadly realized she hadn't awakened after all. The firm conviction in her voice put a lump in his throat. She had so much trust in him, and Wyatt didn't feel very worthy of that trust at the moment, not when Lucy was lying in a hospital bed covered with bruises.

A quiet knock on the door revealed Rufus with a sub and a bottle of water. "Rufus, you are a lifesaver," he thanked his friend, as he set everything on a small table beside the bed. "How long are you gonna stay?" he asked Wyatt. "Until she's awake. I don't want her to wake up alone." "I'll bet you don't, you sly dog," the other man teased, as Wyatt tried not to blush, "Hey, I got eyes, too." At Wyatt's half-hearted glare, he raised his palms and grinning, slowly backed out the door.

By the time Wyatt finished eating, he could barely keep his eyes open, so he pushed the "call" button for the nurse. Lucy had been asleep now for nearly five hours, and he needed to use the bathroom before he even thought about some sleep for himself. When he came out of the bathroom, the nurse was replacing the depleted IV bag with a fresh one, and she informed Wyatt that since Lucy's pulse and blood pressure were normal, thankfully, the new IV didn't contain a sedative. That way, Lucy would eventually awaken on her own. Wyatt thanked her, and once he sat down and took Lucy's hand again, closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Wyatt woke gradually to find that, just as Dr. Adams had predicted, Lucy was much improved after the IV drip plus sleeping nearly a dozen hours. Her dark eyes were much clearer as she looked at him with a shy smile, and there was finally some color in her face. As he stood and stretched, he asked how she was feeling and was satisfied by her reply. They both turned at the entrance of the nurse, followed by Agent Christopher, who asked Wyatt to step out of the room with her.

"I'm glad that Lucy looks and hopefully feels much better this afternoon after sleeping for so long. But, Wyatt, although I have put this off as long as I could, I still need to debrief her as soon as possible. After all, she just spent several days in close proximity with Flynn and could provide us with some valuable intel." Shaking his head, Wyatt stared at her in disbelief, "Are you serious? It's too soon. No, absolutely not. She's been through enough already!" But the agent was unmoved by his argument that Lucy needed more time to at least shower and eat before being subjected to what was certain to be a lengthy, arduous mission report.

As they stood there glowering at each other, the door opened and the nurse scolded, "Agent Christopher, Master Sergeant, you need to take this argument elsewhere because Miss Preston is getting so agitated I can't even take her blood pressure." Shooting the agent an exasperated frown, Wyatt hurried in to see a wide-eyed Lucy gasping for breath, both hands pressed to her heaving chest as she struggled to catch her breath. He quickly sat on the side of the bed and taking one of her hands in his, put his other hand on her cheek as he tried to sooth her. As she continued to wheeze, her panicked eyes began to fill, and Wyatt asked the two women to give them a minute.

When they were alone again, Lucy steadily began to breathe more normally, and Wyatt tenderly brushed away a couple stray tears as he asked what she was so upset about. His conscience twinged slightly when Lucy admitted she had heard him arguing with Agent Christopher, and she was afraid he was in trouble because of her. Wyatt debated what to say, but she still looked upset, so he reluctantly told her, and was surprised when she gave him a sweet smile and thanked him for taking care of her. Unfortunately, that hit a raw spot, and when Lucy misunderstood the reason for his discomfort and started to pull away from him, Wyatt felt compelled to "confess his sins" as it were. He held his breath in anticipation of her anger at his presumption, but Lucy merely pulled him close and put her head on his shoulder.

Reassured, Wyatt put his arms around her and held Lucy closely for a fleeting moment. All too soon, there was a brusque knock on the door. Looking into her soft brown eyes, Wyatt tried to talk Lucy into postponing her debriefing for a while longer since she had just woke up, but she merely put a small hand on his cheek and assured him it was okay. He sighed in resignation and called out, "It's open," as he stood. His frustration got the better of him, though, and while Wyatt could easily tell by the glare she directed at him, he really didn't care if he pissed off Denise Christopher with his insolent, probably bordering on rude, attitude. Someone needed to look out for Lucy, and after nearly losing her more than once in just a few days, Wyatt decided that he was that someone for as long as she allowed it.

After an obviously irate agent left the room, Wyatt promised Lucy he would get her something to eat while she got a shower. True to his word, less than an hour later, he patiently sat with her to make sure she ate some of the sandwich he brought her. She was still much paler than he liked, but clearly determined to give her mission report. Wyatt consoled himself that at least he would be with her in the conference room in case she needed him. He stayed close by Lucy's side as they leisurely made their way to the conference room, only to be met by a solemn Agent Christopher at the door. "Wyatt, I need you to remain out here while I speak with Lucy," she said firmly, and even as Wyatt immediately protested vehemently, Lucy put a gentle hand on his arm and told him she'd be fine. Trying to swallow his indignation, he promised her that he'd be right outside if she needed him, and felt slightly better at her tremulous smile before she turned and shut the door.

It seemed like the longest three hours of Wyatt's life. He felt like a caged animal, wandering back and forth outside the conference room door until he was practically dizzy, so he sat for a while and mindlessly scrolled through his phone and spent a few minutes with Rufus and Jiya when they came to check on Lucy. Every time he looked through the window, his concern for Lucy grew. " _What was taking so long? This type of prolonged stress can't be good for Lucy_ ," he thought anxiously. Without warning, through the closed door, Wyatt heard Agent Christopher loudly call Lucy's name several times. He threw open the door, and rushing over to a white-faced Lucy, hurriedly pulled her chair away from the table.

Wyatt knelt down and carefully guided Lucy's head between her knees in an effort to keep her from fainting and finally let his temper loose. He had officially gone far beyond the limits of his patience, and looking up at his superior officer, declared in no uncertain terms that he was taking Lucy home, and expecting some pushback, was somewhat taken aback at her subdued acquiescence. Turning back to Lucy, he softly asked if she was ready to go, dismayed at how utterly exhausted she seemed (Dr. Adams would not be pleased).

He pulled Lucy to her feet and after a quick stop at the women's locker room for her things, helped her to his truck. She had hit a wall physically (again), and Wyatt was furious with himself that he had let the briefing go on as long as it had. He barely managed to get her up in the passenger seat and fasten her seat belt before she almost instantly fell asleep. Twenty minutes later, Wyatt pulled up in front of his apartment, and glanced over at Lucy, who was sleeping soundly. He hated to wake her, but they couldn't stay here in his truck all night.

Sighing, he got out and hurried around the front of the truck to open her door and help her get out. She was barely conscious, not at all coherent, and leaned heavily against him. Deciding he would sleep on the couch tonight (if he even slept at all), Wyatt led Lucy straight back to his bedroom and hastily pulled the covers back, grateful he'd changed the sheets the last time he was home (whenever the hell that was). He gently sat her on the side of the bed so he could take off her flats. "Don't move, okay, Lucy?" he urged as she stared up at him with drowsy eyes.

Wyatt hastily tugged a tee shirt out of his top dresser drawer, and without thinking twice, quickly pulled her sweater up and off and carefully put his shirt over her head and guided her arms through the sleeves. He was most likely crossing some kind of line here, but her jeans were a little snug (not that he had noticed or anything), and would probably be uncomfortable as hell to sleep in. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Lucy, can you take your jeans off by yourself?" and grimaced at how bad that sounded, since she could hardly keep her eyes open, even though he truly had good intentions.

Even now, her big dark eyes were blinking rapidly and she was having trouble sitting up, so coming to a decision, Wyatt pulled her to her feet once more, just long enough to reach under his shirt and unsnap her jeans. Sitting her back on the side of the bed, he swiftly pulled the jeans down her long legs, telling himself he would do the same for any team mate in the same situation (yeah, right). He eased her now-bare legs under the covers as she sort of leaned over sideways onto his pillow.

Poor Lucy. Wyatt didn't think he had ever seen her this tired, and he wondered if some of her exhaustion was more than physical. He smiled fondly at her as she sighed and snuggled deeper into his pillow, and pulling the covers up around her shoulders, pressed a kiss to the top of her head and murmured, "Good night, Lucy." Wyatt really hoped she would sleep all night, although considering what she had been through over the last several days, he doubted it. The whole mission had been one big nightmare.

Watching Lucy slumbering peacefully, it struck Wyatt that she was the first woman to sleep in his bed since Jess. And surprisingly, that didn't bother him as much as it might have before meeting Lucy. She was his co-worker, his teammate, and, he liked to think, his friend, but lately, so much more. If he were being brutally honest with himself, things had been changing between them ever since he kissed her so impulsively in 1934 Arkansas. (Secretly, he could confess that had been one hell of a kiss.) And good Lord, he certainly didn't feel this protective of Rufus, and smirked at that amusing thought. A huge yawn caught him unawares, and Wyatt decided he was done with the self-examination for tonight. Snagging a pair of flannel pants from the dresser, he stepped into the bathroom and changed out of his clothes before grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and heading to the couch.

While he was fixing up the couch, his phone chimed. It was a text from Agent Christopher informing him that after a review of the team's latest mission reports, mandatory counseling sessions had been ordered for the three of them. Wyatt was so disgusted, he threw his phone down on the couch. Dammit, he absolutely hated going to therapy, but even worse was the knowledge that by making the counseling mandatory, the NSA was, in effect, grounding the team. That was just great, sitting around, waiting to spill his guts to a complete stranger about all the crazy shit they had seen and done, while that bastard Flynn was romping through history, unleashing chaos.

Wyatt didn't know about Lucy and Rufus, but as far as he was concerned, counseling was a huge waste of time (unfortunately, he was too pissed to see the irony in that statement). He did feel slightly better when he realized that at least Lucy might get a decent night's sleep since he wouldn't tell her about the therapy until tomorrow morning. Dropping down on the couch, he picked up the remote and started to channel surf, thinking ruefully that as worked up as he was right now, he'd probably never fall asleep. Damn, it was going to be a long night.

 _A/N: So there you have Wyatt's version of the hours following the team's return from 1893 Chicago. Next chapter will include some of the counseling sessions, and who knows what Lucy and Wyatt might reveal to a complete stranger? Thanks and appreciation to everyone for your wonderful reviews, follows, and favorites. I also want to add how excited I am to see all the new authors and fics showing up in our Timeless fandom. The more, the merrier... :))_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was turning out to be an even worse night than Wyatt had gloomily predicted. Shortly after he had finally drifted into a restless, fitful sleep, a piercing, terrified scream from his bedroom shattered the calm stillness of the apartment. Heart pounding, he stumbled off the couch and down the hall, only to find a sobbing Lucy thrashing around his bed, desperately struggling with someone or something that only she could see. Wyatt approached the bed cautiously, worried that he might distress her even more, when suddenly, Lucy sat up and burying her face in her hands, began to cry softly. "Lucy? Are you okay?" he whispered as he sat gingerly on the side of the bed and hesitantly touched her shoulder, and he was startled when without warning, she threw herself at him, trembling and whimpering his name over and over against his neck, "Wyatt, Wyatt, you're here, you found me," and he realized she was still at least half asleep. Holding her closely to him, Wyatt tenderly rubbed Lucy's back as he murmured soothingly, and as her tears gradually subsided, he felt the difference in her slender frame when she was fully awake.

Stiffening, she pulled back abruptly, swiping at her wet cheeks, and Wyatt immediately missed her warmth against him. "Lucy, are you okay?" he asked, hands still draped loosely around her, and when she wouldn't meet his eyes, he put a hand on her cheek and tilted her chin as her teary dark eyes flickered up and away from his gaze. She was embarrassed, he realized, and Wyatt's heart broke a little at her miserable expression, "Lucy, listen, bad dreams are likely, hell, even to be expected, after what you've been through the past couple of days, please don't be embarrassed." When she didn't respond, he put a hand around her neck and pulling her to his chest, Wyatt took a chance, and continued gently running his hand up and down her back before asking if she wanted to talk about any of it. God knows there was a regular laundry list to choose from, he grimly acknowledged: the team's horrible confrontation with David Rittenhouse, being Flynn's prisoner, the nearly lethal encounter with Holmes. Wyatt marveled anew at Lucy's strength and courage. He had served with many men who had crumbled in the face of far less.

When she hesitated, Wyatt made the decision for her, standing and offering Lucy his hand, and suggested it might be easier if they took their discussion out to his living room. After a long moment, she threw back the covers, and looking up at Wyatt with a puzzled expression, asked, "Um, Wyatt, why don't I have any pants on?" His faced reddened as he stammered, "Uh, yeah, I may have taken them off of you, but only so you could be more comfortable," and he only pretended to be annoyed when she giggled at his faintly chagrined expression, secretly delighted with her amusement. Wyatt groused, "Okay, sure, have a laugh at my expense," as he found an old pair of sweats in his dresser and tossed them to her. "Just come out to the living room when you're ready, okay?" and turning to leave, stopped at Lucy's soft words, "Thank you, Wyatt, for taking care of me, you always make me feel better," and his heart lightened just a little, even while he was uncertain he deserved her gratitude.

Once they were settled side by side on the sofa, Wyatt put his arm around Lucy's slim shoulders and invited her to lean against him, and was encouraged when she rested her head against his chest. Gently stroking her soft wavy hair, Wyatt assured Lucy that she could tell him as much or as little as she was comfortable with, and waited patiently for her to start. Trembling slightly, she took a deep breath and began to speak in a hushed monotone as Wyatt fought desperately to hide a growing sense of dread and anger. Lucy had been strong all by herself for too long, and this time, he would not let her down, so he remained as calm as possible. She glossed over the initial abduction by Flynn himself (no matter that she downplayed it, Wyatt was still going to kill Garcia Flynn one day soon, very soon, if at all possible). Lucy paused long enough to ask for some water, and sat quietly with her eyes closed while Wyatt retrieved a couple of bottles from his fridge. After she drank a little bit, Lucy put her head back on his chest, and continued.

 _Flashback_

Lucy was huddled on the thin mattress, her knees drawn up to her chest in an attempt to stay warm. The chilly, damp air continuously seeped under the door of the small locked room where she was imprisoned, and she was acutely aware that her muslin undergarments, bulky as they may be, offered little protection from either the cold or the leering glances of Karl and his friend, No Neck. Lucy had never felt so vulnerable before, and unbidden, an image of Wyatt one of the last times she had seen him flashed through her mind, and she ruthlessly pushed the thought away. She was barely hanging on by a thread as it was, and if she let herself think about Wyatt and the possibility of never seeing him again, Lucy feared it would be all too easy to give in to her panic and despair.

Her determination to be brave had only faltered once, and that was when Flynn had confronted Lucy as she opened the bathroom door the first time and demanded that she remove her cloak and dress. "No, I won't," she had gasped in disbelief, and instinctively stepped back as Flynn reached for her arm and jerked her out into the open in front of the other men. "Don't worry, Lucy, your virtue is safe with me," he had sneered before conceding, "However, Karl does seem to have an eye for petite brunettes, and of course, my man Duncan here isn't choosy at all, so I grant you may have some cause for concern."

Searching his implacable face desperately, Lucy had swallowed her pride and implored in a harsh whisper, "Flynn, please don't do this, please don't make me take off my dress. I'll do whatever you want, I promise," but apparently, Garcia Flynn was in no mood to be generous or compassionate. "Sorry, Lucy, but I can't risk you trying to escape, and Anthony has told me it would be inhumane to keep your wrists bound, so I think perhaps keeping you in just your undergarments might be incentive enough for you to stay put until I get what I need."

Helpless to stop the tears of humiliation sliding down her face, Lucy had closed her eyes and stood like a statue while an obviously nervous Anthony stepped around Flynn and carefully removed her cloak and with shaking hands began unlacing the bodice of her fitted wool jacket. After he pulled the garment from her shoulders, he froze when Lucy suddenly opened her eyes and hissed at him, "Are you proud of what you've become, Anthony? As if helping Flynn murder God knows how many innocents and wrecking mayhem through history isn't despicable enough, now you stoop to molesting female hostages?" For the briefest of seconds, he hesitated, but then Flynn barked, "Get on with it, Bruhl, or I will let Karl assist you, and I doubt Miss Preston would appreciate Karl's decided lack of finesse." And Lucy knew then that Anthony Bruhl's soul was beyond saving, if it ever was after throwing his lot in with Garcia Flynn.

She shivered as her skirt fell away, too, wrapping her arms protectively around herself as she defiantly asked if she could go back to her tiny prison now. "Maybe later," Flynn had replied indifferently, signaling No Neck, who cruelly grabbed Lucy by the arm and dragged her to a desk with a computer set up near the mother ship. "Let go of me, you creep," Lucy demanded, trying to suppress the tremor in her voice. "Now, now, manners, Lucy, if you please. You're going to hurt Duncan's feelings," Flynn sarcastically admonished. And when Lucy made the mistake of stealing a glance at the thug, she was frightened by the look in No Neck's eyes as they moved over her body slowly.

Trembling, Lucy was shoved into a chair and ordered by Flynn to track down John Rittenhouse, since she had been the one to let him escape. "He was an innocent child," she protested weakly as Flynn snarled, "Who probably grew up to make Rittenhouse even stronger. Now, I have an errand to run, so do as I ask and behave and perhaps you can go back to your room when I return," and then he and Anthony boarded the mother ship and it vanished, leaving Lucy alone with her two guards.

 _End Flashback_

Lucy wasn't even aware she was crying until Wyatt handed her a couple of tissues. Sitting up and noticing the big wet spot on his tee shirt, now she really was embarrassed, and after blowing her nose ( _I feel so attractive right now_ ), when Lucy tried to apologize, Wyatt wouldn't hear of it. "Lucy, you have nothing to be sorry for. I think you're one of the bravest women I have ever known," and her face warmed at the sincerity in his blue eyes. "I'm the one who needs to apologize," he muttered. "Whatever for?" she interrupted. Wyatt sighed, "Lucy, I should never have agreed to join forces with Flynn, let alone consented to split the team up to look for John Rittenhouse. I should have kept you safe with me."

"Wyatt, no, don't you dare blame yourself. You had no idea how this would all turn out," she reasoned. He argued right back at her, "Lucy, besides taking out Flynn, my number one priority is your personal safety, yours and Rufus', and I failed." Slumping against the back of the sofa, Wyatt closed his eyes wearily. Lucy considered his words, and deciding she was faintly offended at his defeated attitude, she then impulsively repeated her actions from that last day at the Alamo by leaning toward him and putting her hands around his neck.

When his eyes flew open in surprise, she gave him an affectionate smile and declared, "Wyatt Logan, you are an idiot, but I'm willing to overlook that because in spite of what you might tell yourself, you have been taking excellent care of me and saving my life over and over again since our first mission, and in no way, shape, or form do I hold you responsible for the actions of a mad man like Garcia Flynn. Now, have I made myself clear?" While she had been scolding Wyatt, his hands had lifted to lightly grasp her wrists, and she blushed when his dark blue gaze drifted to her smile. As he lowered his mouth to hers, he breathed, "Yes, Ma'am," against her lips, and her eyes fluttered shut while his warm lips teased delicately at hers.

Lucy's senses reeled at the feelings Wyatt's kiss was coaxing from her, and she very distantly recalled her cynical dismissal of "chemistry" and "lightning bolts" that night in 1934 Arkansas while sharing a bed with him. She had tried to convince herself in the weeks since then that Wyatt had been right, they had merely been playing roles in front of Bonnie and Clyde, but there were no murderous outlaws to pretend for now. When the tip of his tongue tormented her bottom lip, she parted her lips eagerly and whimpered as his mouth leisurely took possession of hers and drove just about every coherent thought from her mind. Several long, blissful moments later, Wyatt had deftly maneuvered Lucy's now very relaxed body under his, and only the need to breathe forced him to pull back.

Panting lightly, he grinned at Lucy's dreamy expression and swollen dark rose lips. Gazing into her glowing brown eyes, Wyatt confessed, "I've been wanting to kiss you again for a long time, but I thought maybe I had ruined any chance of that with my stupid comment about role playing." "Yeah, that was a pretty stupid thing to say," Lucy agreed with an impish look that was almost immediately spoiled by an enormous yawn. She clapped a hand over her mouth as Wyatt chuckled, "Am I boring you, Miss Preston?" and taking pity on her, reluctantly pulled himself away, saying, "Lucy, you need to rest. Think you can try to sleep now?" and frowned when she hesitated. "Lucy, what is it?" Shrugging self-consciously, she whispered, "I don't want to be alone. Could I stay out here with you?" and gazed up at him hopefully.

Wyatt gave her an easy, dimpled smile, and after swiftly kissing her once more, said, "C'mere," and tugging Lucy to her feet, straightened the pillow and quilt he had been using, and lay back down on his side facing front and opened his arms invitingly. "Maybe we can keep each other's bad dreams away?" he offered. Lucy nodded shyly, and carefully stretched out in front of him facing forward and sighed happily as he put an arm over her waist, holding her securely. She shivered as his warm breath swept across the back of her neck, "I'm right here now, Lucy, try and get some sleep," as he covered the two of them with the quilt.

Daylight was gradually filling the corners of the room when Wyatt slowly opened his eyes. He lay quietly for a peaceful moment, savoring the feel of Lucy in his arms. It had been so long since he had slept with a woman, and Wyatt had forgotten how comforting it was and how much he had missed that feeling. He glanced down to see that somehow Lucy had turned over during the night, and was nestled against him, her soft breath whispering across his chest. One of her long, slender legs was wedged between his, and she had a pretty good grip on his tee shirt. Judging by the amount of light in the room, Wyatt was amazed and pleased at how long they slept, and gratefully acknowledged that they had evidently kept the nightmares away for each other. He gazed longingly at her slightly parted lips, and willed back the urge to kiss her awake. Time enough for that later, he supposed, because right now, Lucy needed all the rest she could get, especially when the team had this mandatory counseling crap to look forward to.

" _Aw, hell_ ," it suddenly occurred to Wyatt, " _She didn't even know yet_." He guess that maybe her phone was in her bag in his bedroom, but she had been so exhausted when he brought her home last night, he doubted she had looked at it. Just as well, because last night had been traumatic enough for her without the knowledge of this mess hanging over her head. The two of them had practically had their own personal therapy session last night, and he was so humbled that Lucy trusted him enough to confide in him.

For now, as much as he'd like to stay tangled up in Lucy's arms on his sofa the rest of the day, he needed the bathroom, and probably should check in with Rufus. Delicately prying Lucy's small hand from his shirt, Wyatt cautiously slid her leg from between his, and scooted out from behind her. Relieved to see she hadn't even stirred, he carefully tucked the quilt securely around her shoulders and kissing the top of her head, grabbed his phone from the end table before heading for the bathroom. Just as he finished washing his hands, his phone chimed with a text from Rufus.

 _Hey, you up?_

 _Yep_

 _OK, good...WHAT THE HELL, man? Mandatory counseling?_

 _Yeah I'm not happy either._

 _What exactly does that mean?_

 _Just what you think. Team's grounded until we're cleared by a therapist._

 _Well that's just frickin great (that was sarcasm if you weren't sure)._

 _Yeah I got that._

 _Does Lucy know yet?_

 _No she's still asleep._

 _Oh OK...in your bed, lol?_

 _NO, not that's it's any of your business._

 _Jeez, dude, defensive much?_

 _Jeez, dude, still none of your business._

 _Ok, ok! You think we should get together and figure out how we're gonna handle this?_

 _Yeah, good idea. Can you come over here in a couple hours? I have to take Lucy home to get some clothes._

 _She gonna pack a suitcase, lol?_

 _Rufus, STILL none of your business._

 _Ok, ok, see you in a couple hours. I'll bring bagels._

 _Ok, thanks see you then._

Wyatt shook his head fondly at his friend's persistent curiosity. Deciding to let Lucy sleep a little while longer, he snagged some clean clothes and took a hasty shower, and twenty minutes later, was sitting on the sofa trying to wake her. He began to gently rub her back, murmuring, "Lucy, c'mon, time to wake up. Lucy," and grinned when she growled at him and buried her head deeper into the pillow. So, Lucy Preston is not a morning person. Good to know. However, much as he'd like to indulge her, there just wasn't time, not when Rufus would be here in less than two hours.

"Lucy," he coaxed, leaning in and running his finger down her cheek, "If you wake up, I'll make you breakfast," he offered. Nothing. Wyatt thought for a minute, and putting his lips against the soft pink shell of her ear, promised, "Lucy, I'll give you a kiss if you wake up right this second," and was greatly amused when her drowsy eyes instantly snapped open as she rolled over to face him with a very pretty blush rising up her face. "Wyatt Logan, did you just try and bribe me with a kiss?" "Yes, and I'm a man of my word, Lucy Preston," he teased before lowering his mouth to hers. Her slim arms eagerly wrapped around his neck, and Wyatt very quickly comprehended two things: he and Lucy were already crazy good at kissing, and unfortunately, they really didn't have time for kissing right now. Reluctantly, he drew back and couldn't help a tiny flicker of male satisfaction at the dazed expression she wore.

"Good morning," she whispered breathlessly as her eyes fluttered open. "Good morning," he responded, "How are you feeling?" as he tenderly brushed her soft hair back from her forehead. "Much better, I think, and thanks to you, no bad dreams," she bashfully admitted. "Me, either," he agreed, and taking a deep breath, Wyatt confessed, "Lucy, there's something I have to tell you," and he felt terrible when the smile fell from her face. "No, no, you and I are fine, Lucy, it's work," he hastily assured her. "Agent Christopher texted me late last night after you fell asleep that all three of us have to undergo mandatory counseling before the team is cleared for duty," and his heart sank at her reaction.

Struggling to sit up, Lucy put her hands over her face and started to apologize, "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault, if I had just gotten away from Flynn, you and Rufus wouldn't have been trapped in the murder castle when you tried to rescue me." Wyatt interrupted her pity party, "Lucy, seriously, for such a smart person, you just jumped to a not-smart conclusion," and pretended not to see her indignant glare. "Did you just call me dumb?" she asked suspiciously. Tugging her close, he hugged her and said, "Yeah, maybe, but it's for your own good, because you are completely wrong about this. I'm pretty sure that not only is Flynn a highly-trained former NSA operative, he's at least a foot taller, and probably 100 pounds heavier, than you. So, no offense, but even I might not have been able to get away from him," and Wyatt stared at her until she grudgingly conceded his point.

"Okay, what's the plan?" she sighed, and Wyatt told her that Rufus was on his way over in less than two hours so the team could figure out how they were going to handle the counseling in the quickest way possible so they could resume their missions. Lucy hurriedly dressed in her own clothes, and they drove to her place so she could shower and change. Wyatt wondered if it might be too soon to ask, and was quite pleased when she came down the stairs with a small duffle bag slung casually over her shoulder. Without either of them saying a word, he reached for the bag and taking her hand, carried it to his truck. They arrived back at Wyatt's about fifteen minutes before Rufus, and while Lucy carried her bag to his bedroom, Wyatt took some eggs from the fridge and started making breakfast.

When Lucy answered the door at Rufus' knock, his eyes widened and hugging her tightly, said, "Lucy, you look so much better than the last time I saw you! How are you feeling?" and she got a little bit emotional at his concern. "Much better, thanks, and I'm so glad you're okay, too. C'mon in, Wyatt's making breakfast," and he followed her into the small kitchen where Wyatt was just finishing the eggs. Setting the paper bag from a nearby bakery down on the table, Rufus glanced at the other two and asked, "What are we going to do?" and Lucy and Wyatt looked at each other before answering him. At Lucy's nod, Wyatt said, "Between the three of us, we have a lot of brains, education and field experience, and we are going to need every bit of it to bluff a licensed therapist. Here's what we need to do..."

 _A/N: Yep, a little cliffhanger there, oops ;) So, no "official" therapy yet, but I think Lucy and Wyatt have made a good start, right? I'm kind of blown away by the positive response to this story, and having a lot of fun writing it. My sincere appreciation to everyone for their amazing reviews and the favorites and follows, and a big shout out to the guest reviewers...you guys rock! Thanks so much for the support :)_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The team sat around Wyatt's table amidst empty coffee cups and bagel crumbs as he drilled Lucy and Rufus over and over again about every possible scenario he could think of when the trio reported for the counseling session later today. When he had asked the other two if they had ever seen a shrink or been to any kind of therapy, all he got were blank stares in return. Apparently, he was the sole member of the team who had endured the personal hell known as "remedial" counseling, like the time Wyatt had been forced into therapy after Jess was murdered, and of course, after he had returned from the ill-fated mission in Syria. He really did hate talking to psychiatrists because somehow, they always wormed their way into his head and made him doubt himself. Wyatt was pretty sure the only reason he remained in Delta Force today was the fact that he had finally told himself beforehand to think of the counseling as a type of mental torture, and unsurprisingly, the very techniques he had been trained in to resist an enemy's mind games worked, enabling Wyatt to be cleared for return to active duty. It was a pretty tall order, though, to prepare two civilians like Lucy and Rufus to purposefully "bend" reality in order to convince a licensed mental health professional that the team hadn't been adversely affected by their increasingly dangerous missions, especially this last one.

They had just sat down to eat a hastily thrown-together breakfast when each of their phones, in turn, had chimed with a message from Agent Christopher. The three of them were to report to Mason at 3:00 today for an initial group session, and Wyatt was desperate to ensure there were no slip ups or not only would the team be grounded, they would all most likely be escorted off the premises (well, Rufus would probably be allowed to keep his job, as valuable to Connor Mason as he was), but he was sure the NSA could easily find another historian and soldier. " _Lucy still looks wiped out_ ," Wyatt thought guiltily, but as much as part of him wanted to make her get some rest, another part knew if they didn't get their stories down cold, any decent therapist would effortlessly slash through their efforts with scalpel-like precision.

After another grueling hour had gone by, Lucy had abruptly stood and tiredly requested a bathroom break. When she was out of earshot, Rufus turned to Wyatt and sighing, firmly declared, "Okay, Wyatt, enough. We all know what's at stake here, I definitely do, but there's also such a thing as being too prepared, and more importantly, sounding over-rehearsed," and at Wyatt's exasperated protest, held both palms up. "No, I really appreciate what you're trying to do here, honest, but I need a break, and if I'm not mistaken, Lucy's in the bathroom right now trying not to cry because she can't bear to disappoint either of us, especially you," shaking his head sympathetically at Wyatt's dismayed expression.

Wyatt's heart sank as he regretfully acknowledged the truth in the other man's words. "Rufus, I'm sorry, I know I'm being tough on you and Lucy, but..." as Rufus interrupted, "Hey, listen man, you're just trying to protect us like you always do, and I get that, but it's time to go with what we got. It'll be all right, Wyatt. Now, I'm going home for a couple hours, and you better check on Lucy," and he patted Wyatt's shoulder reassuringly as he left.

Standing outside the closed bathroom door, Wyatt took a deep breath, knocked and said, "Hey, Lucy, you okay in there? Rufus just left," and stepped back as the door opened slowly to reveal a pale, exhausted Lucy. Pulling her unresisting slender body tightly against his, Wyatt murmured into her soft hair, "Lucy, I'm really sorry for pushing you guys so hard," and smiled affectionately at her when she immediately leaned back, and furiously blinking away her tears, chided, "Wyatt Logan, don't you dare apologize for trying to take care of us," and met him more than half way when he leaned down to kiss her trembling lips. When he finally lifted his mouth from hers to catch a breath, Wyatt was relieved to see a little more color in her cheeks.

"Listen, since it's not quite noon, and our session isn't until 3:00, do you think you could sleep a little?" and at her weary nod, took her by the hand and after setting an alarm on his phone, Wyatt laid back down on the sofa as Lucy curled up in front of him and almost instantly fell asleep, her breathing slow and steady as she drifted off. He held her closely to him, wrapping his arm securely around her small waist, and tucking his cheek against her dark hair, tried to calm his racing thoughts. This afternoon was so important for the team and their future missions, and to Wyatt and Lucy personally most of all. He had been more than a little surprised to realize some time ago that, if he was removed from the team and ordered back to Pendleton, he didn't want to leave Lucy. But, whatever this was growing between them, was it serious enough for her to follow him to San Diego so they could be together if he decided to stay in the service?

Up to this point, Wyatt had never once contemplated returning to civilian life. After his wife's death, he had hidden in, and ultimately taken comfort from, his military life, and in the past, when he even paused to think about his future at all, had always assumed he'd remain on active duty for his whole career. But now, after all these months spent at Mason Industries on this incredible, mind-blowing time travel assignment, and even more importantly, since meeting and growing so attached to Lucy, Wyatt was having doubts. For the first time since Jess had been taken away from him, his heart was drawn to another, and he was self-aware enough now to know he wanted very much to be with this woman. As his eyes eventually closed, his last thought was a fervent prayer that the three of them would be successful, because the alternative was too painful to contemplate.

Rufus was already waiting outside the conference room with a worried-looking Jiya clinging tightly to his hand when they arrived a few minutes before 3:00. As Lucy dropped Wyatt's hand long enough to hug the other woman, Rufus fist bumped him, saying calmly, "It's gonna be all right, Wyatt, you'll see," as Wyatt offered a resigned shrug in return. The conference room door opened without warning, and a solemn Agent Christopher greeted them. "Good, you're all here. Today, you will be speaking with Dr. Edward Miller, one of the NSA's top counselors. He's already been briefed on the mission here at Mason, and once he recovered from his initial shock, has been going over your mission reports from the very beginning, in 1937 New Jersey, as well as your personal dossiers. Dr. Miller is highly qualified and well-respected in his profession, and naturally, is looking forward to meeting all of you."

At Wyatt's vaguely sarcastic snort, the NSA agent fixed a steely gaze on the trio and admonished, "It should go without saying, no funny business in there, just be honest and respectful, understood?" Lucy and Rufus both nodded obediently, while a faintly sullen Wyatt half shrugged, seemingly impervious to her implied rebuke. After shooting the team a compassionate glance, Jiya followed Agent Christopher down the hall, while Rufus stepped inside the conference room. As a tense Lucy went to follow him, Wyatt grabbed her hand, and whispered, "It's going to be fine, Lucy. I'll be right beside you the whole time," and hurriedly pressed a swift kiss on her lips, and was pleased at the resulting faint blush gracing her cheeks.

Dr. Miller was a tall, lanky man with closely-cropped gray hair and sharply observant blue eyes hidden behind wire-frame glasses who gazed at the trio with undisguised interest as they took their seats across the table from him, Wyatt and Rufus flanking Lucy on either side. As the doctor reached over the table to shake their hands, he began by saying, "Well, it has unquestionably been an eventful few hours for me today, as you can all imagine. Certainly not an everyday occurrence to be informed that time travel is real, as I'm sure the three of you recall experiencing first-hand several months ago. As Agent Christopher has likely informed you, I have been provided copies of your mission reports to get up to speed on the assignment, as well as your confidential personnel files. Now, the purpose of today's session is for me to meet the three of you, become familiar with the functions of each team member, and hopefully, get a firmer understanding of the inner dynamics of the group so that I may issue a preliminary recommendation of each member's fitness for duty, so to speak. I must admit, I am quite intrigued that you have all actually physically traveled back in time on numerous occasions, at least 250 years for one mission alone, and have not only experienced life in these other periods of time for hours and even days, but also interacted with the individuals you've encountered. The whole assignment is truly fascinating."

At the counselor's casual, friendly manner, Wyatt could feel Lucy beside him relaxing just slightly, and while he appreciated Dr. Miller's apparently innocent desire to put them at ease, his mistrust of mental health professionals was too deeply embedded for him to let his guard down for even an instant. Lucy must have sensed the tension he was trying to hide because her small hand was gently resting on his thigh as it pressed against hers under the table. As discreetly as he possibly could, Wyatt placed his hand over hers and she turned her palm up to loosely hold his hand, and he appreciated her attempt to comfort him.

Dr. Miller sat back down and opened one of the files stacked in front of him. "Let's begin with Miss Preston, shall we?" and paused when Wyatt involuntarily corrected, "It's Dr. Preston," and immediately wanted to bite his tongue as the counselor sent him a searching glance before looking back down at the file. "Oh, yes, you are correct, Master Sergeant Logan, it says so right here in her file." Tightening her grip on Wyatt's hand, Lucy offered Dr. Miller a weak smile as he continued to read aloud from her file.

"Impressive, Dr. Preston, most impressive. You earned your doctorate in History/Anthropology at Stanford University before the age of 26, top of your class. Over the past seven years, you have received very respectable performance assessments and numerous outstanding student evaluations. Although currently on an extended leave of absence of unknown duration, you are employed as an Assistant Professor of U.S. History at Stanford, working under the direct supervision of your mother, Dr. Carol Preston, who is the Department Chair. You are to be commended, Dr. Preston, for your hard work and obvious devotion to an already accomplished career."

Wyatt felt Lucy's hand flex in his at the counselor's seemingly sincere compliment, and glancing at her from the corner of his eye, noticed the faint color that warmed her cheeks as she quietly thanked Dr. Miller. The doctor put Lucy's personnel file aside, and opened the next file and rapidly scanning the top sheet, noted, "Well, Dr. Carlin, it says here that you possess two advanced degrees from M.I.T. In addition to a PhD in Physics, you have also earned a Masters Degree in Computational and Systems Biology. Plus, during your final year at M.I.T., you received the Martin Deutsch Student Award for Excellence in Experimental Physics. Frankly, I have no idea what any of that is. Would you indulge me for a few moments and briefly explain?"

Rufus cleared his throat and clarified, "The broad definition of the program of study is an integration of concepts and ideas from the bio sciences, engineering disciplines, and computer science. It might sound exciting, but there is quite a bit of plain old, boring research involved." Dr. Miller smiled warmly across the table at him, and countered, "I'm sure the subject is every bit as challenging as it sounds. And like Dr. Preston, you are building a remarkable career for yourself, and I see that your file also includes many stellar evaluations from Connor Mason himself, which is no small feat." Rufus solemnly nodded once in acceptance of the older man's comments.

Wyatt tried, but couldn't help stiffening up slightly when the counselor eventually flipped open his personnel file. No big fancy college degrees or titles to admire there, not that he gave a rat's ass. He was perfectly happy being the hired muscle, so to speak, for their team, more than content to leave the brainy stuff to Lucy and Rufus. He was therefore taken aback by the older man's respectful and faintly awestruck attitude. "Master Sergeant Logan, I see that you have achieved quite an illustrious military career since you first entered the service at the age of eighteen. Numerous commendation and achievement medals during the first four years, and then approximately ten years ago, you were recruited for the elite Delta Force operations unit, where you underwent extensive testing and rigorous training before being selected."

He frowned slightly when Wyatt murmured, "I'm just a soldier, Doc," and plainly disagreeing with Wyatt's modest response, rebutted, "You are certainly far more than just an ordinary serviceman, Master Sergeant Logan. Your file states that you have received highly-skilled training in marksmanship, demolitions, counter terrorism and counter intelligence, linguistics and several foreign languages, including German and Mandarin, physical fitness, and executive protection, including advanced driving. And on top of all that, you are the recipient of both the Silver and Bronze Star medals. I am certainly quite impressed at your exceptional career serving our country thus far."

Wyatt froze at the doctor's mention of his medals and at first barely felt Lucy's slim fingers gripping his hand firmly, and while he appreciated her intentions, it was probably wasn't the best idea for her to also lean in and whisper reassurances in his ear right in front of Dr. Miller. He mentally shook his head at his slip up ( _Jesus, get your act together, Logan...here he had been worried about Lucy and Rufus and he was the one screwing up_ ) and clutching Lucy's hand in response, sat up straighter and stoically acknowledged the counselor's unexpected admiration. Perhaps sensing the team's discomfort at being having their accomplishments discussed in such great detail in front of each other, the therapist then closed Wyatt's file and carefully put all three of their files to one side.

"One last thing before we move on to the next portion of your session today. After reading through your personnel files, I have to say that in my experience, for a group of strangers that was thrown together with almost no advance planning or notice, the three of you are probably as highly-qualified as any team I have ever encountered, and I look forward to working with you." Wyatt's heart sank at the counselor's probably well-intentioned words, zeroing in on the phrase, " _...look forward to working with you_ " which would seem to indicate that today's session was not a one-shot deal. Great. Terrific. Just fan-damn-tastic. Now he was more concerned than ever.

Wyatt reined in his wandering thoughts just in time to hear Dr. Miller say, "Before we begin the first assessment activity I have planned, I would like to verify for my records the purpose, or rather, function of each member of your team as I have interpreted them from the mission reports. Dr. Preston, you are the team historian, and your chief responsibility is preserving the current historical time line to the best of your abilities, as well as utilizing your anthropological skills and knowledge to enable the team to blend in with whatever time period a mission takes you to avoid corrupting the time line. Would you say that's accurate?" At Lucy's nod of affirmation, he began writing on a legal pad in front of him.

"Next, Dr. Carlin, you are the only team member qualified to pilot the time machine, and in addition to providing any type of mechanical or engineering expertise necessary during a mission, you also assist as needed with security backup for Master Sergeant Logan, is that correct?" When Rufus nodded also, the therapist made another notation and looking up at Wyatt, "And you, Master Sergeant, serve as the mission strategist and are also in charge of providing security for Drs. Preston and Carlin, is that right?" Wyatt quietly answered, "Yes, sir."

Dr. Miller looked very pleased with their responses, and after making several more entries, "I would like to start with a fairly basic team personality analysis exercise. One at a time, I will ask you to name two positive and one negative character/personality traits about your fellow team members. I know that this will likely be uncomfortable for all of you as it's human tendency to gloss over or ignore any negative attributes of your teammates for the sake of morale, but I can assure you that it's next to impossible to improve something you yourself may not be aware of. Now, shall we give it a try?" and pretended not to notice the trio's decided lack of enthusiasm as he made yet another entry on his legal pad.

"All right, then, ladies first. Dr. Preston, if you will, can you tell me one negative and two positive things about Dr. Carlin?" and smiled encouragingly at her visible reluctance. Taking a deep breath, she offered, "Well, as you noted from his personnel file, I can confirm that Rufus is one of the smartest individuals I have ever met and just brilliant at what he does, plus he has proved his loyalty to the team on numerous occasions," and glancing apologetically to her right, "On the other hand, he can be somewhat stubborn at times." She shrugged and shook her head as her friend jokingly pointed to himself and mouthed the words, "Who, me?" The doctor smiled approvingly at Lucy, "Well done, Dr. Preston, now can you do the same for Master Sergeant Logan?"

When she sighed softly, Wyatt squeezed her hand under the table, and fought to keep any sign of emotion from his face as he listened to Lucy tell a complete stranger how she perceived him. His heart soared when Lucy began, "I'm sure it's obvious to you, Dr. Miller, from perusing Wyatt's service record that he is undoubtedly a brave man, and Rufus and I can both attest to that. What you might not realize, though, from just reading a piece of paper is that in spite of lacking a college diploma, Wyatt Logan is also very intelligent," and she deliberately tightened her grip on his hand. "And one negative, please, Dr. Preston," the counselor requested. Her hand flexed nervously in his as she admitted, "Um, I guess, maybe, arrogance. At times, especially during the first two or three missions, Wyatt was pretty arrogant, and he and I definitely butted heads on several occasions, but maybe that's not such a negative trait after all because to me personally, it meant that this man, a Delta Force operative, was supremely confident in his skills and experience, and that actually made me feel more secure. It still does..." and her voice trailed off as Wyatt lightly pinched her hand in warning when Dr. Miller gazed intently at first her and then Wyatt, who tried desperately not to react.

" _Oh, shit, now you've done it, Lucy_ ," Wyatt thought, torn between elation at her heartfelt words and dismay as she unwittingly gave the shrink a weapon to use against the two of them. Dropping his eyes, Dr. Miller responded, "I see, well, thank you, Dr. Preston. You did very well. Your turn, Dr. Carlin." Hastily stealing a glance at the other two, Rufus described Lucy as very intelligent and passionate about history, and after a long moment, gruffly added that sometimes she unnecessarily questions Wyatt's authority during a mission, and shrugged defensively at her accusing glare. "Don't give me that look, Lucy Preston, you know yourself that there have been times when you give him grief for really no reason at all," Rufus returned, ignoring her muted huff of indignation.

Wyatt grinned to himself at Lucy's petulant expression, and waited patiently for his friend's assessment. "I have to agree with Lucy that Wyatt is definitely smarter that someone might give him credit for, and something that has always impressed me about him is that he strives to be fair at all times, which, given some of the situations we have run into on various missions, is no easy task. As for a negative trait, again, agreeing with Lucy, Wyatt's extreme confidence in his own abilities can sometimes come off as arrogant, although that's not always a bad thing." Sighing in relief, Rufus leaned back in his chair as the therapist thanked him for his remarks before turning an expectant gaze at Wyatt.

Directing a faintly challenging look at Dr. Miller, Wyatt volunteered that he agreed with Lucy that Rufus was extremely intelligent, and what he had come to like most about the man was his nearly unshakeable sense of honor. As for a negative trait, Wyatt felt that their pilot sometimes lacked confidence in his abilities whenever he was out in the field and not behind a desk in front of a computer. As he fell silent, the doctor looked up from his notes and prompted, "And Dr. Preston, Master Sergeant? Your observations, please?" Wyatt felt Lucy's small hand nestled trustingly in his, and for the first time in days, a sense of calm enveloped him. "Dr. Preston is absolutely one of the smartest women I've ever met, and fiercely protective of history and what it means to every one of us. As for a negative, I guess sometimes her bullheadedness annoys me," and he bit back a smirk at her soft disapproving sniff. The counselor listened attentively, and nodded with satisfaction at the team when Wyatt finished. "Thank you, that was most enlightening, and I appreciate, rather difficult for all of you," and smiled kindly at the trio's nearly identical expressions of relief.

"Now, one last brief exercise for today's session, if you would be so kind. Because you were complete strangers when the team climbed into the time machine for that first mission, it's highly probable that each of you almost instantly formed a first impression of your teammates, either positive or negative. I'd like you to take a moment to consider which one of your first impressions has changed the most about the others since that first mission. That information, along with what I've already compiled on the team and each of you today, will give me a starting point for possible future team sessions, and more likely, when I meet with each of you individually. Right now, I'm going to step out of the room for a short break and give you some time alone," and walked out of the conference room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Lucy immediately turned to Wyatt with a stricken expression on her face, "Wyatt, I'm so sorry, I know I messed up," and closing her eyes, lowered her head to the conference room table in defeat. As Wyatt gently patted her back, Rufus stood, and nodding toward the door, said, "I'm just gonna check in with Jiya, give you two a minute," and Wyatt offered him an appreciative smile. When the door closed behind Rufus, Wyatt leaned down and tried to console her, "Hey, Lucy, don't worry, you did great, you and Rufus both did. I'm the moron who got freaked out when he started reading from my file," and when she slowly raised her head to gaze sadly at him, he decided they needed a break, too.

"C'mon, let's get out of here for a few minutes, okay?" and taking her hand, they left the conference room and once Wyatt texted Agent Christopher where they'd be, they went outside to find a little bit of privacy. They chose a bench under a shady tree in a small, quiet courtyard located near the rear of the facility. Lucy sighed in pleasure as she sank down on the bench, and closed her eyes as Wyatt put his arm around her and drew her head to his shoulder. "It's so peaceful here in this one tiny spot, isn't it?" she reflected as she tucked her cheek against his chest, and Wyatt hummed his agreement as he lazily rubbed his hand comfortingly up and down her back. Lucy broke the hushed silence, whispering, "You know the stuff I told you that happened when Flynn took me hostage? Wyatt, I really don't want to tell all that to a stranger. It was okay to tell you and Agent Christopher, but it kind of makes me scared and sick at my stomach to contemplate sharing those details with some NSA doctor. But I'm afraid if I don't tell him, I will no longer be part of the team. And think about it, you and Rufus will probably have to talk about being trapped in the murder room, and good Lord, what about all the stuff that happened with David Rittenhouse and Benedict Arnold?"

Listening to Lucy express her fears, Wyatt understood completely how she felt. He recalled vividly that being forced to talk about his marriage with complete strangers after Jess was murdered had been a special kind of torture for him, and he knew how difficult it had been for her to open up to him, even as close as the two of them were. "Maybe we should just go ahead and quit and save them the trouble. What are we going to do if Dr. Miller hears all this crazy, nearly unbelievable stuff and immediately recommends to Agent Christopher and the NSA that we should be removed from the team?" Lucy murmured pensively.

He was silent for several moments, considering his response before answering, "Well, first of all, he seemed pretty impressed with our combined credentials and experience, so unless one of us completely screws up in any future sessions with him, I don't think he'd be inclined to do that. Plus, I would bet good money the NSA feels like the fewer people who know what's actually going on here with the time travel thing, the better." When she didn't respond right away, it occurred to Wyatt that maybe she was talking about more than time travel, and he wasn't sure if he was actually ready to have this particular conversation at the moment ( _probably time to man up, Logan_ ).

"Lucy? You're not really talking only about time traveling missions right now, are you?" he asked tentatively, and his hand dropped away from her back as she sat up and turned to look at him. Biting her lower lip hesitantly, Lucy shook her head and whispered, "No, I don't think I am," and gazed at him with hopeful dark eyes. Wyatt took a deep breath, and reaching up to run his finger down the curve of her cheek, admitted, "I don't know exactly what we are right this second, or where we're going, but I do know that so far, it feels right, whatever this is between us, and I'd really like a chance to move forward with you, Lucy," and his breath caught when Lucy's face brightened and she beamed a smile of pure happiness at him, "I'd like that, too," before he lowered his mouth to hers.

All too soon, they broke apart at the sound of someone clearing his throat rather loudly. "Thanks a lot, Rufus, great timing," Wyatt grumbled good-naturedly as Lucy hid her blushing face against his shoulder. "Hey, in my defense, the two of you are making out in a _public_ place," their friend retorted, before adding, "Oh, yeah, and just in case you were wondering, your whole 'let's hold hands under the table' subterfuge idea didn't work. Jiya was standing near Agent Christopher when Dr. Miller came out of the conference room and the first thing out of his mouth to her was 'how long have Dr. Preston and Master Sergeant Logan been involved in a personal relationship?' so, yeah, hiding whatever you are from him was pretty much an epic fail, although I would have liked to have seen the look on Christopher's face," he mused, and his brows drew together in a puzzled frown when Lucy and Wyatt looked at each other and started laughing. "Did I miss something? I thought you guys would be upset that you got found out."

Wyatt stood, and pulling Lucy to her feet, replied, "Actually, Rufus, I think I'm relieved. Lucy and I are two single, consenting adults who just happen to jump through time together on a regular basis, and if we can convince the good doctor that our being together doesn't affect the missions and we stay on the team, fine. If not, we'll decide on something else, right, Lucy?" and he grunted softly when Lucy threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Hey, what about me?" asked a visibly dismayed Rufus, "What am I gonna do if you two get kicked off the team?" Wyatt shrugged nonchalantly, "Listen, man, you're the one with all the fancy-schmancy college degrees, you'll figure it out. C'mon, let's go back inside and get the rest of today's inquisition over with, 'cause I think Lucy and I might have plans for this evening," and suddenly feeling a lot more optimistic about the future, he took Lucy by the hand and led his team back inside to finish their group session.

 _A/N: See, they weren't fooling anyone, were they? Not 100% sure at this point how many more chapters this will go, but I definitely want to give my sincere thanks to Once Upon A Whim for her invaluable help with my endless questions about Lucy and Rufus' college degrees. Also, shoutout to TheVelvetDusk 'cause I got the idea for the outdoors part of this from her most excellent fic, "X-Ray to the Soul." And finally, bonus points for anyone who catches the tiny Star Wars reference. What can I say? I'm a nerd :D My appreciation to everyone for the great response to this story so far, hope you like this chapter :))_


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